Гэрет Уильямс - Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 5 : Средь звезд, подобно гигантам

"No," she said, sadly. "He couldn't come on. He helped me. He carried me here. He was a good man."

G'Kar closed his eyes. "Yes. Yes, he was."

"Do you know this Londo Mollari?"

"Yes, I do. I will take you to him if you like. If I can."

"I'd like that. I've got something to tell him."

"What?"

"I can't tell you. I can only tell him. Who is he?"

"A friend. A friend of mine. And Lennier's. Another good man. There are…. not enough good men in this galaxy."

"Are you a priest?"

"A priest? Yes, I suppose so. I believe, if that means anything."

"My mother said I had to go to a priest when I'd chosen my new name, when I chose which religion I wanted to follow. She wanted me to call myself Na'Hiri and adopt her religion, but none of them…. made any sense to me. I wasn't sure what name I wanted. Can I….

"Can I call myself L'Neer?"

He looked at her. Lennier had bought her life at the cost of his own. He must have seen something within her, something special, and for a moment G'Kar thought he could see it as well.

"Little one," he said, smiling. "You can call yourself whatever you wish."

Lennier had left the city far behind him, walking out into the countryside. High grey mountains loomed on either side, every stone and plant and breath of air filled with blood. This world had been a battleground for so long that in the end no one had known what else to do with it.

The sad thing was that Lennier had no better idea that the Narns did.

"Hey, Minbari!"

Lennier turned in the direction of the shout. He had thought himself alone. Most of the remaining inhabitants of Narn were cowering in their homes with friends and family, or in the chapels praying for a salvation that would never come. He had certainly not expected to find anyone out here.

It was an old soldier, dressed in a uniform that was ripped and torn and scuffed with age, but still worn with pride. Lennier had seen him before — walking about in the city, but earlier than that too. A long time ago.

"I know you, don't I?" the old Narn said, drinking from a bottle held in one hand. "You're one of my nephew's men. His Rangers."

Lennier touched the sunburst badge which he had taken to wearing openly again. "I…. was," he said, carefully. "My name is Lennier."

"G'Sten. I knew I'd seen you before somewhere. You were with the Centauri, weren't you? The one who's now Emperor, and Marrago. You helped break him out." Lennier nodded, remembering now. So many years ago…. "I knew it. Have you seen Marrago recently? Last I heard he'd been fired and gone into private work as a mercenary."

"I heard the same thing."

"Pity. He was a damned good man. For a Centauri. There's something about an enemy like that, someone you respect, even like. It makes it less of a war, less about hatred, and more about proving yourself better than he is. More about the Game." He took another swig. "Not that that's always a good thing, of course.

"But it's done now. Both of us are old men, discarded by our Governments, put out to grass. Happens to us all eventually."

"You did not try to leave?"

"Leave? Me?" He laughed. "I'm too old, boy. No, leave this life to the younger ones, the ones who've got enough time left to enjoy it. I'm a relic of the old days, me. By any rights I should be dead a hundred times over." He pointed a little way up the mountain. There was a cave mouth there. "Do you see that cave?"

"Yes."

"We had a Resistance base there, during the Occupation. Anyway, when I was young, in the early days, I was captured by a Centauri lord. I'd been sabotaging his estates, burning stables and farmland, that sort of thing. Turned out he had one of those witches on his staff. The ones who can see the future. You heard of them?"

Lennier nodded.

"Well, she went into a trance, and said she saw me dying in the mountains. She described this place perfectly. I don't mind admitting I was a bit scared. The Centauri had a thing about unpleasant deaths. One thing they liked to do was stick dozens of sharp stakes into the ground and then throw their prisoners off the top of a mountain on to them. The fall wasn't so far that it'd kill you, but the stakes would. Eventually. I thought that was what they'd do to me.

"But some of my friends broke me out that night, and I almost forgot about the prophecy. Some years later, twelve at least, the Centauri soldiers tracked down one of our bases, to that cave over there. We were outnumbered and overrun and pretty soon I was on my own, my gun running low on energy, staring at what looked like hundreds of the bastards. I remembered the old witch's prophecy again, and I was sure she was right. For a moment I felt like giving up and letting them kill me."

He fell silent for a moment.

"And what happened?" Lennier asked.

"I picked up the gun and carried on firing. Managed to fight my way out. Went to ground in the mountains. Hid for weeks, starving and hurt. But I was still alive. I'd won, see. I'd beaten the old witch. She died the night before we burned her lord's estates to the ground. Pity. I'd have liked to talk to her one last time."

He looked around at the mountains and sighed.

"And you have come back to die here?" Lennier asked.

G'Sten looked at him and laughed. "Are you joking, boy? No, I came here to spit in the bitch's face one last time." He threw his arms wide and shouted into the sky. "Do you hear me, witch? I'm still alive! And I'm not going to die here!"

He laughed, long and loud, and then jumped down from the rock he was sitting on. "I'm going to walk back into town. Do you want to come with me?"

"I…." Lennier looked around. "No, I think I will stay here. I…. like this place."

"Suit yourself." He shook the bottle. There was the sloshing of liquid. "Do you want some?"

"Is it alcoholic?" G'Sten nodded. "Then, no. My people do not drink alcohol."

"I don't think you'll have time to worry about a hangover."

"No, but thank you."

"Word of advice, boy. Take every opportunity you have to experience new things, because you never know when you'll never get a chance again." G'Sten thought over those words. "Or something like that. Are you sure you don't want any?"

"No."

"Your loss. Nice to have met you, boy."

"My name is Lennier."

"Nice to have met you, Lennier." He took another long draught and headed back along the road to the city.

Lennier looked up into the sky, and sat down to pray.

It was beginning to get dark.

It begins as shock. It turns to anger, then fear. A dead world. A homeless people. And a lust for revenge. All forces begin to converge on Babylon 5, demanding answers, demanding retribution, demanding justice. Kats and Sinoval and Corwin and Delenn and Sheridan and the remnants of the Narn people. And Sebastian. And the Vorlons. Truth is a three-edged sword — but then understanding is not required. Only obedience.

At first word came slowly from Narn. The ships, overburdened and slow and drifting, arrived on other worlds. Angry and traumatised and incoherent refugees tumbled out. Initially they were not believed.

Dark Star s and scientific patrol vessels arrived in neighbouring systems, sent from Babylon 5 by Commander Kulomani. They picked up more refugee ships and helped to escort them to safe havens. Some worlds were at first reluctant to admit so many fugitives, but the military might of the Dark Star s convinced them.

The Dark Star s kept trying to force jump points into the Narn system. They experienced escalating problems — system failures and jump engine damage. Eventually a more conventional military vessel, a Brakiri troop carrier, managed to jump into the system.

It was destroyed in a collision with a huge asteroid cloud that had not been there before.

After that, the truth of what had happened to Narn was obvious. The shock was palpable, the fear more so. Narn space was shut down completely, the governors on Narn colony worlds closing down jump gates and fortifying their systems. Governments across the galaxy waited nervously for word from Babylon 5.

The Vorlons said, and did, nothing. As far as they were concerned, there was no need for explanation or apology.

Elsewhere, Sinoval had his own response to the tragedy.

MATEER, K. (2295) The Second Sign of the Apocalypse. Chapter 9 of The Rise

and Fall of the United Alliance, the End of the Second Age and the

Beginning of the Third , vol. 4, The Dreaming Years . Ed: S. Barringer,

G. Boshears, A. E. Clements, D. G. Goldingay & M. G. Kerr.

G'Kar didn't talk at all on that long journey from home, other than those first few words to me. I was a little scared of this tall, imposing, badly — wounded figure. He had clearly been attacked. My young eyes saw him as a great soldier, although what he was doing in that cargo ship I had absolutely no idea.

I remember very little of my life before that moment. It was not just my name that changed that day, it was my life and whatever destiny had been laid out for me. I realised later the enormity of what Lennier had done for me, sacrificing his life and his entire future for mine, for someone he did not know. That realisation has permeated my life all these years. I have forgotten what he looked like, how he spoke, what he was wearing that day, but I have always remembered that I owe my life and everything I am to him.

It is a chilling thing to know, that, but sobering and welcoming as well. I have always been able to feel him watching me, watching the young Narn girl who took his name and his life and his destiny. I hope he is not disappointed in me.

I stayed close to G'Kar throughout the journey, talking to him when I could, and thinking in scared silence the rest of the time. I was not entirely sure what had happened, but from the faces of the adults around me I could tell it was something serious, something very bad indeed.

I had never been away from Narn before. I had little comprehension that there were such things as other worlds. Thus, the first sight of a Dark Star , visible through the windows of the cargo hold, filled me with both awe and terror. I had to strain to see it, but the few glimpses I could catch were both wondrous and horrible at the same time. I seemed to behold a face screaming beneath its surface.

The Dark Star escorted us to the nearest world. I forget which one, and in truth I do not want to remember. Seeing all those sad — faced, black — eyed adults moving out into the blinking sun that seemed too…. bright, was a chilling image. I looked around frantically for my parents, but everyone seemed the same, alike in misery and disbelief.

I finally found my way back to G'Kar, who was talking with a very strange alien I later learned to be a human. He kept addressing this human as 'Captain', and I thought she was some soldier whom G'Kar had fought beside. He kept mentioning a place called Babylon 5, and a Council, and I remember the captain promising to take him there

That was when I said I had to go as well. G'Kar and the human captain, whose name seemed to be B'thany T'kopai, tried to persuade me to look for my parents, but of course they were nowhere to be found. In any event, I wasn't sure I wanted to be with them. My eyes had been opened, and I could see far more clearly than before. Besides, I knew even then that they would not understand the value of my holy quest. I had a message to deliver to Londo Mollari, and I would hold to that mission.